Young working tenants should be warned that their living arrangements and lifestyles are exposing them to identity fraud.

They have become a prime target for identity thieves, overtaking rich home owners with bulging bank accounts.

New research shows that private tenants in their twenties and thirties and on low to middle incomes are the most likely demographic group of any in the UK to fall victim to identity theft.

According to Experian, they are almost twice as likely to be targeted than the national average.

Of all cases of identity theft identified between August 2013 and August this year, 19% were in this category.

Nick Mothershaw, director of identity and fraud at Experian, said: “Previously fraudsters focused on wealthy individuals who offered the richest pickings, but now young renters have also become prime candidates for identity theft.

“A key reason for this is that rented accommodation is often more easily accessible, and more likely to have shared hallways where it is easier to intercept post.

“In addition, there are a growing number of young renters as high property prices, especially in urban areas such as London, have meant that young people cannot afford to buy property.

“Also this group are prolific users of online services which means the opportunity for identity thieves to gain their personal information will only increase.”

The Experian findings emerge as, separately, LSL reports that tenants’ finances have become much more stable, with arrears going down.

Serious arrears – those of two or more months – have dropped by 9% in the last year, said LSL this morning.

It believes that tenants more than two months behind on their rent now number 65,200, compared with 71,700 this time last year.

The decline is starting to be reflected in eviction rates. In the latest data, covering the second quarter, 27,700 tenants faced a court order for eviction, down from 33,000 for the same period in 2013.

LSL also reports that buy-to-let mortgage arrears have improved, with the number of landlords behind with payments at almost the same level now as before the recession.

As at the second quarter this year, there were 13,400 cases of buy-to-let mortgage arrears compared with 13,300 in the same quarter in 2008, and a big fall on the 17,900 cases of buy-to-let arrears in quarter two a year ago.